Energy Saving in a Dry Climate and Vertical Housing

AbstractAspects such as mass development of horizontal housing with inappropriate designs for a region with warm and dry climate, the incessant investment in electrical energy, the continuous growth of cities towards the outskirts, and the downward trend in population density give rise to excessive energy consumption. This paper presents a study on the horizontal growth in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico where the climate is warm and dry and the use of air conditioning is essential. In Hermosillo, 40 dwellings develop per hectare, which lack bioclimatic strategies and need to be supplied with electrical energy, street lighting, and urban infrastructure. In other cities such as in central Europe, up to 300 dwellings are developed per hectare and in South America, 150 dwellings per hectare. In these major cities, vertical housing is developed, which restrains territory growth. Based on this study, it can be demonstrated that sustainable vertical housing for warm dry climates such as the one in the State of Sonora can provide significant saving on electricity consumption and urban infrastructure in comparison to the mass development of horizontal housing with no bioclimatic techniques. This saving can be a determinant in the development of sustainable vertical housing